


Thankful

by leopardprintpants



Series: Operation: Matchmaking [4]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: College, F/M, Mention of fisting, Read to find out lmao, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 02:49:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10480452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leopardprintpants/pseuds/leopardprintpants
Summary: Reader gets Stanford to help out with the Thanksgiving dinner. He doesn't cook much, but he loves to spend time with her.





	

"Now you just put it in like this..."

"Uh huh."

"Ford, wrong place."

"Oh, uh, sorry."

"It's fine, you're doing really good."

"Am I?"

"Yeah, now you just spread the stuff around. Make sure it doesn't slip out of your hands, it's a pain to make some more."

"I wouldn't mind it."

"Of course you wouldn't, but I'd like to move on soon, thank you very much."

"Okay, I'll be careful."

"Good."

"..."

"..."

"... I can't believe I'm fisting a turkey."

"Stanford!"

(Y/n) laughed and Ford chuckled, feeling the rest of the homemade butter melt in his gloved palm.

It was Thanksgiving morning, and the two were prepping the turkey as Fiddleford went to the café, which was serving cranberry juice and sauce until noon. The turkey was in a large, metal tray that was also filled with onions, carrots, and other choice vegetables.

Gravy mix was on the counter, ready to be used just before dinner. Ingredients and supplies littered the kitchen island of the boys' dorms. Backupsmore had issued a rule that the students were only allowed to share dorms for the night, including students of the opposite sex, but there had to be guards roaming the halls so no one wandered around after curfew.

The security was mostly made up of members of the student council, though, so there'd be only three or four adults per dorm who'd allow any and all students to visit their friends in exchange for any leftovers. No matter how long they'd had their jobs, none of them would hesitate to admit the cafeteria food sucked.

"Right, now we should be done with this. We can leave it in the oven for now, but don't heat it up just yet." The woman stated, opening the oven door as Ford carefully moved the turkey into it with a nod.

"Alright, so what now?" He asked, discarding his gloves and washing his hands as (Y/n) closed the oven door. She rummaged through the contents of one of the many grocery bags on the counter before pulling out two bags of fresh cranberries.

"Now, we make the cranberry sauce." She said, setting the bags in the sink and looking for a saucepot and a colander. Ford wiped his hands on a dishrag and eyed the bags of fruit.

"Couldn't we just ask Fidds to bring us some from the café?" He asked, moving out of the way when the woman nudged him away from the sink. She shrugged and pointed to the scissors out of her reach before speaking.

"Yeah, but that's no fun. You haven't really cooked Thanksgiving food yet, right?" She asked, taking the scissors from Ford. He tried to ignore her fingers brushing against his, registering the question and shaking his head instead. "Yeah, exactly. It'll be better for us to bond and for you to learn stuff at the same time. That way, once we... part ways, we can make the same food on the same day and we can pretend we're eating together!"

Stanford frowned and the room got a little more tense. (Y/n) didn't meet his gaze, keeping a smile on her face that didn't quite reach her eyes.

Yes, graduation was coming up soon. In just two more years, they'd all split up. Fiddleford would probably settle down somewhere. (Y/n) often talked about how she'd like to travel the world. Ford would find a place to do research on the paranormal.

They all had dreams. They all had the opportunities to act on them. Why wouldn't they?

Because you like her, that's why. His inner voice said.

Ford found himself clenching his fists at his sides and quickly unclenched them before (Y/n) could notice. She didn't seem to, only cutting the bags of berries open and placing them all into the colander before rinsing them.

For two more silent minutes, neither of them spoke. The only sounds were deafening; the running water, the squeak of the faucet as the woman turned it, the rolling of the cranberries filling some of the silence as they were tossed in the colander half-heartedly.

He couldn't take it. The man took silent steps behind his crush. She felt his presence and dried her shaking hands before turning around.

Another moment passed as the two examined each other. Ford's eyes wandered over the woman, taking in her flushed cheeks and nose from the crappy heating in the dorm, the slight trembling of her hands as they gripped the counter behind her, the quivering bottom lip of hers at the thought of them all separating.

Both knew that it was impossible not to follow their dreams in exchange for some silly college crush. They knew that this moment would be long forgotten, hidden behind new memories to come as they grew older, wiser.

Even then, Ford didn't hesitate to wrap the woman in his arms when he saw the shine of unshed tears in her eyes. (Y/n) hugged him back after a moment of initial shock, burying her face in his shoulder and letting a few tears soak into his clothing.

Ford felt this, but didn't say anything. He only buried his face in her hair as the woman moved her face into the crook of his neck. Warm breaths made their way to his heart, which beat quicker. If the two had listened closely, they would know their hearts were beating at the same, quick rate.

"Stanford," (Y/n) said softly. The man felt his face flush and held back a shiver at the feeling of her lips moving against his skin in a whisper. He hummed in acknowledgment, feeling the woman's grip get tighter. "I'm thankful for you."

It was wonderfully bemusing how those four simple words made him aware of his crush's body warmth seeping into his, of her smooth hair tickling his cheeks and her incredibly soft lips speaking against him.

It took him only a moment to find his wits again. When he did, he sighed into her and hugged her tighter to match her hold on him.

"I'm thankful for you, too, (Y/n)."

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! If you're here from Operation: Matchmaking, you may notice this is a chapter I deleted to make its own story. I've been kind of put off by the way I structured it, so from now on the extra chapters are going to be seperate fics.
> 
> Sorry if this is confusing, but it should help with the way I update chapters.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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